A young man “made no attempt” to cover his face during a shooting which left bullet holes in a Dublin flat following an argument, a court has heard.
Jordan Lapongo (21), of no fixed abode in Dublin 15, is accused of unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a gun at a specific address in Mercer House flat complex in Dublin 2 on the morning of November 8th, 2023, and being “reckless as to whether any person was injured or not”.
The father of one appeared before Judge Paula Murphy at Dublin District Court.
Garda Paul Cummins said the charges under the Firearms Act carry a maximum of seven or ten-year sentences.
He confirmed that the Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment in the Circuit Court.
There was an objection to bail due to the seriousness of the incident, “grave concerns” about further serious offences concerns, witness interference or disposal of illegally acquired property.
Garda Cummins alleged that at 7.21am on the date of the incident, “gardaí responded to a report that a firearm had been discharged” at a particular flat.
Officers examined the scene and discovered “a bullet hole in the front window”.
It was alleged the accused and another male argued with the occupiers of that address before exiting the flat complex to retrieve a firearm which had been located close by to the complex.
Garda Cummins claimed the accused and the second male returned with the firearm and “brandished it” toward the occupants before discharging a shot at the front of the flat.
Excellent CCTV evidence, he added, “clearly” showed another round being fired “through the window” at the rear of the property.
He also told the contested bail hearing that the footage showed that the pair made no attempt to cover their faces before, during and after the incident.
The officer mentioned that he had grave concerns about further serious offences against the people at the flat. The gun has not been recovered, and gardaí feared it would be used again.
Cross-examined by defence solicitor Aoife McTaggart, the garda agreed the video evidence was not brought to court, and there was no DNA or firearm residue evidence.
The defence suggested Mr Lapongo could reside at a specific location in Dublin but remain away from the scene of the alleged shooting.
She submitted that it took until now to charge her client, who did not address the court.
Judge Murphy set his bail at €3,000, of which Mr Lapongo lodged €1,000, and he needs an independent surety who has €10,000 to be approved by the court.
The judge warned him to obey several conditions once the terms had been met.
She told him he has to reside at an address in Dublin but outside the city centre, sign on daily at a Garda station, obey a 10pm-7am curfew, not contact the witnesses, and keep his phone turned on at all times, surrender his passport, and stay out of Mercer House and the Dublin 8 area.
Prosecutors must complete a book of evidence before a return-for-trial order is granted.
The accused, who has yet to enter a plea, was remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear at Cloverhill District Court on September 18th.
Another man was charged with the same offences last week and has been remanded in custody.
